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Fort Bayard Days bring history alive this weekend

Events for kids today, more for adults on Saturday

By Christine Steele

csteele@scsun-news.com

on Twitter @SCSunNews

Posted:
09/19/2013 05:27:43 PM MDT

Click photo to enlarge

Courtesy photo.
The 4th U.S. Cavalry Regimental Military Band will give a concert at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Fort Bayard during Fort Bayard Days. A military ball will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday night.

Courtesy photo.
The 4th U.S. Cavalry Regimental Military Band will give a concert at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Fort Bayard during Fort Bayard Days. A military ball will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday night. (null)

SILVER CITY >> Today hundreds of elementary school children from Grant County and the region get to experience the living history of the Southwest at the annual Fort Bayard Days. Although today is traditionally known as "school day" during Fort Bayard Days, learners of all ages are invited to head out to explore and experience more than 25 Living History stations that highlight the Fort's historic and military significance, with volunteers in period costume as military officers, Buffalo Soldiers, military wives, laundresses, military doctors, Apache culture, an old-fashioned toys and games for the kids.

Courtesy photo.
The Fort Bayard Burros will suit up and play a game of vintage baseball versus the Wood Bat League of Arizona at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the Parade Ground at Fort Bayard on Saturday. Reverend Earsey Ross is the manager for the Burros and the vintage base ball game will follow the rules of the 1860 - 1880 era, when Ballists (players) played with bare hands. A catcher with raw hands, however, was allowed to wear thin buckskin gloves. Go cheer on your vintage Fort Bayard home team. (null)

Fort Bayard's roots stretch back to 1866, when it was established as a United States Army installation to protect miners and other settlers in the area along the Apache Trail. The Fort was one of many installations throughout the Southwest that was garrisoned by the Buffalo Soldiers. A monument to the Buffalo Soldiers was erected on the old parade field in 1992, and the site was designated as a national historic landmark in 2004.

Events kick off at 9 a.m. with a full day of living history experiences. The day ends with the playing of Taps by Mick Coon.

If you prefer your learning at a quieter pace, head to the New Deal Theater at Fort Bayard tonight for the lecture and catered BBQ dinner at 6:30 p.m. with speaker Dr. Doug Dinwiddie discussing Lt. William H. Emory. Dinwiddie's presentation, "No Money, No Mules, No Supplies, and No Commander: The trials of Major William Emory in the Southwest (1845-1854), will trace the overwhelming challenges the young Lt. Emory faced as the U.S. Army accomplished its mission in the transition of the southwest into territories, then states. Two decades before Fort Bayard was established in the foothills of the Pinos Altos Range of southwestern New Mexico in 1846, an intrepid group of U.S. Army Surveyors and Topographers following General Stephen Watts Kearny orders in the expansion of the boundaries of the United States to fulfill the nation's dream of Manifest Destiny. Emory, a dedicated officer, carried out his part of the mission so effectively that he was later called to mark the new boundary of the new international boundary between the United States and Mexico resulting from the outcome of the Mexican War.

Courtesy photo.
Lt. William H. Emory will be the subject of Dr. Doug Dinwiddie's talk this evening at the Fort Bayard New Deal Theater. (null)

Dinwiddie, or "Dr. D." to his students, lived for many years in Grant County. He is a graduate of Silver High, and received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in history, with high honors, from WNMU, studying under Dr. Dale Giese, Dr. Philip Cook, and other members of the history department. He first became deeply interested in the military history of the American West due to the inspiration of his mentor Dr. Giese. Dinwiddie earned his Ph.D. in history and political science from Northern Arizona University. From 1974 to 1987, he was curator and director of the WNMU Museum, and served as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Social Science. He joined the faculty at NMSU's Carlsbad branch in 1987. He advanced to the rank of full professor at NMSU-C, and retired in 2009. Among the honors he received at NMSU was the Donald Roush Award for Excellence in Teaching. Relocating to Fort Collins, Colorado in 2009, he has served as an adjunct faculty member at Colorado State University, and at Front Range Community College. He has taught a wide range of courses, specializing in American Military History and Southwestern Studies. In 2012 he was honored by the student fraternities at CSU as one of the campus' four top instructors in the category of "Teachers Who Make a Difference." Along with his wife Becky, he is planning to re-retire to Grant County in the near future.

Tickets for this event are $15 for adult and $6 for children under 12. To make a reservation, call 575-388-4477 or 575-956-3294.

Following tonight's history lecture, return to Fort Bayard on Saturday, for a couple of treats. A exhibition game of old fashioned base ball - it was two words in years gone by.

A favorite game of the military, flour was used to mark the bases and boundary lines, and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. two vintage teams - the "Wood Bat League" of Arizona and the "Fort Bayard Burros" will suit up and play a game on the National Historic Landmark's Parade Ground. Reverend Earsey Ross is the manager for the Burros and the vintage base ball game will follow the rules of the 1860 - 1880 era, when Ballists (players) played with bare hands. A catcher with raw hands, however, was allowed to wear thin buckskin gloves. Go cheer on your vintage Fort Bayard home team.

The other treat is a concert by the 4th U.S. Cavalry Regimental Military Band at 1 p.m. A Military Ball will be the Saturday evening event, from 7 to 10 p.m.

Saturday's events open at 9:30 a.m. with a flag ceremony, followed by tours of the historic fort, and living history presentations all day. Lunch will be available from 11:30 to 1 p.m. The annual event is sponsored by the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society. For more information: visit: fortbayard.org or call: 575-956-3294 • 307-640-3012 • 575-388-4477.